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Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The Kebbi State government has said that the 2020 Regatta Cultural Festival will promote both the economic and tourism potential of the state.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Babale Yauri, also the national chairman of planning committee of the festival, said this at a news conference in Birnin Kebbi on Friday.
The SSG also said that the event would showcase the tourism potential of the state through agricultural shows, entertainment, the inauguration of a fish market.
“Similarly, it would place the state and the country on the world map of tourism,” he said.
Yauri added that the cultural festival would hold at Yelwa in Yauri Local Government Area between Feb.20 and Feb.22.
“The concept of Regatta is fundamentally about tourism; you will have a clear understanding of it when you marry the history of Yauri and etymology of the word, `Regatta’,” he said.
According to him, regatta means `gunganci’ in the local language and is interpreted as ‘marine war’ which in its real context connotes buoyancy and prestige.
The SSG said, “the regatta to the Yauri involves water sports and entertainment.
“When the festival started about 200 years ago, it was a display of marine strength of the Gungu people.
“Then, the Gungu warriors used to attack the most dangerous hippopotamus in the River Niger area on an annual basis.”
